The hypnotised state is similar to being on ‘automatic pilot’.   Whilst in this state it is thought that the left, analytical side of the brain turns off, giving the right, creative side, complete freedom. 

This explains why people always remain conscious but accept suggestions more easily and take actions on these, so long as they are not in conflict with an individual’s moral code of ethics.

How much of our brainpower is held in the subconscious mind and what does it control?

Our conscious mind is believed to represent only 10% of our brainpower, leaving the subconscious mind to use the other 90% to conduct the majority of our brain functions.  Therefore most people only use a small proportion of their potential!  Due to the strong ‘mind-body’ connection the subconscious can often be at the root of our health problems and anxieties. 

The subconscious mind controls positive and negative reactions/feelings and is the home of our unique personality, survival instinct, human potential, creativity and intuition.  Also known as the 'unconscious', 'inner' or 'feeling' mind, the subconscious mind holds the life record of our memories and learning.  The natural mental potential you were born with is waiting to be tapped!

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So how exactly does hypnosis/ hypnotherapy work?

To help explain how this works it is best to break down the following definition of Hypnosis:

“Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the critical factor of the human (conscious mind)  is bypassed and selective thinking is established.”  (Dave Elman)

The critical factor of the conscious mind will block and refuse new information if this is in conflict with information or a belief in the subconscious mind.  Thus, hypnosis is used to relax the conscious mind and bypass the critical factor, which opens the door to the subconscious mind.  Just simple conscious thought is not enough to reach the subconscious mind and make the changes that you would like.

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Why would you recommend a life coaching session before having hypnotherapy?

Selective thinking is established when new positive suggestions are accepted by the subconscious mind wholeheartedly.  This happens when you like the suggestions you are given and feel they will work for you, which is why it is important for a therapist to get a good understanding of what you really want.  If you didn’t like a suggestion or this was against your moral code of ethics you simply would not accept that suggestion.

This explains why cognitive behavioural and life coaching compliments hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) so well, as suggestions and techniques can be individually tailored to clients’ needs and will therefore be that much more powerful. 

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How does Harmony4Life use information from a life coaching session?

Harmony4Life uses the information taken from life coaching session(s) to ensure hypnotherapy is tailored for each individual clients.  The more tailored hypnotherapy is, the more effective it will be.

For example, selective thinking may be established with a client who has requested hypnotherapy sessions for pain relief through a suggestion such as “if you continue to see yourself playing football you will feel no discomfort whatsoever”.  The client will experience complete anaesthesia, as long as they continue to focus on playing football and accept the suggestion they have been given.

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What other ways may I benefit from life coaching?

Additionally, life coaching focuses your mind on what you really want.  This means you will be more likely to take in anything around you in your daily life that will help you.  The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is responsible for this; for example if you decide you want a red car one day you will find you notice so many more red cars the following day and are therefore more likely to find one for sale more quickly! 

Life coaching will help you sharpen your mind and empower you to help yourself at a conscious level, whilst hypnotherapy can help you at a sub-conscious level.  This unique and powerful two-pronged approach is highly recommended, however if you just want hypnotherapy or just want life coaching that is perfectly fine.

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How safe is hypnosis/ hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis/ hypnotherapy is very different from the stage hypnotism you see on TV, as your therapist is not controlling your thoughts or making you behave in a certain way.  In hypnotherapy sessions with Harmony4Life in Bristol, you will always be completely in control and your therapist simply acts as a guide.  You will only be given positive suggestions that are in line with your goals.  The same applies for any Harmony4Life Hypnosis MP3.  You are always in control. 

Your therapist will help you explore the hidden levels of your mind and emotions and use positive suggestions to initiate change so that you can  achieve your goals.  Although it may seem daunting to dig below the surface of your mind, hypnotherapy sessions are a completely safe and supportive way to tap into your potential, as well as past experiences, as illustrated by the following quote:

“The so called dangers from hypnosis are imaginary.  Although I have hypnotised many hundreds of patients I have never seen any ill effects from its use” (Dr Julius Grinker).

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What evidence is there to prove that hypnosis/ hypnotherapy really works?

Research continues to reflect that given the right conditions hypnosis/ hypnotherapy can be a very powerful trigger for change.  When a client feels comfortable with their therapist they will benefit from deep relaxation and the effects of hypnosis/ hypnotherapy can be astonishing. 

It is important to practice self hypnosis to reinforce any work with a therapist.  Hypnosis MP3s  can help you to do this more easily by guiding you into deep relaxation and giving you positive suggestions.  Whatever way you choose to practice self hypnosis remember it is crucial to continue with this even when you think you have reached your goal.  Ideally you should practice self hypnosis on a daily basis and you can use Harmony4Life MP3s to help you do this as well as the Harmony4Life Self Help Hypnosis e-book.  Please click here to download FREE subliminal messaging, affirmations, relaxation and hypnosis MP3 samples.

When hypnosis/ hypnotherapy is used repeatedly to replace negative beliefs and old information with positive beliefs/ information this can have a profound impact on attitudes, outlook and behaviours.  As you can imagine these results can be life changing and explains the success of hypnosis/ hypnotherapy as demonstrated by this quote:

“There is more scientific evidence for hypnotherapy than any other complimentary therapy…by using hypnosis people can perform amazing feats of willpower and self-healing”   (Health Education Authority)

Which? 2002, reported the results of a meta-analysis of 18 controlled trials which suggest that hypnosis/ hypnotherapy can reinforce the effects of cognitive behavioural psychotherapy for conditions including high blood pressure, insomnia and anxiety.  Which? also stated that other studies indicate that hypnosis/ hypnotherapy can potentially help with weight loss, chronic fatigue syndrome and headaches.

For information on Harmony4Life Hypnosis/ Relaxation MP3s click here.

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Who can be hypnotised?

Harmony4Life uses a mixture of traditional and new techniques to ensure that all clients can be hypnotised if they want to be (as long as they have an IQ of at least 70 and do not have a severe mental disorder). 

Apart from wanting to be hypnotised, it is important that you have realistic expectations of what it will feel like to by hypnotised.  The best expectation you can have to help you do this is that you will feel more relaxed when you come out of hypnosis.  Sometimes people become to preoccupied with looking for signs that they are hypnotised and as such fail to follow the guidance of their hypnotherapist. 

By doing this and thinking you are not 'going under' or being resistant to hypnosis relaxation is rarely achieved.  This is quite ironic as relaxation is a key component of hypnosis and by doing either of these things people often prevent it.  Relaxation is a gradual process which is always achieved by the end of each Harmony4Life session of Hypnotherapy in Bristol. 

Therefore, it is most important to simply focus on letting go and relaxing as much as possible whilst concentrating on your Hypnotherapist’s voice so that he or she can help you to relax further.  Harmony4Life includes Progressive Relaxation to help you to do this by releasing physical tension first.

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Does it matter if I am not in a deep state of hypnosis?

The level of hypnosis you are in really does not matter.  The most important thing is that you follow the instructions of your hypnotherapist as well as possible.  Any level of hypnosis/ relaxation, no matter how little, is simply an added bonus in Harmony4Life's hypnosis MP3s/ sessions of hypnotherapy in Bristol.  This is because the techniques used, such as NLP, can be used with or without a hypnotic induction.  Due to this I have worked with people who do not want to be hypnotised due to religious beliefs that it is non-christian, whilst still enabling them to benefit from using the same techniques.

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How do you hypnotise someone?

The traditional techniques Harmony4life uses include the progressive relaxation induction.  This can be used to hypnotise 70% of clients that it is used on.  Although it takes longer than other techniques it is hugely beneficial for clients who experience a lot of physical tension, as it involves going through each muscle group in the body to ensure the entire body is completely relaxed.  The new techniques include the rapid induction method, which ensures that clients are deeply hypnotised within four minutes and produces deep physical and mental relaxation.

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Tell me more about how you use suggestion therapy and NLP in conjunction with cognitive behavioural/ life coaching

Suggestion therapy refers to positive suggestions that are given to clients, whilst they are hypnotised, to suggest that something will happen or is happening.  For example, ‘your hands are becoming warmer and warmer’ or ‘when you wake up you will feel energised and better than you did before’.  This kind of therapy focuses on the symptoms clients' are experiencing. 

Combined with the positive, goal focused approach of life coaching, suggestion therapy and NLP is tailored and as a result much more powerful than standard sessions of hypnotherapy in Bristol.  This is due to suggestion therapy being much more in line with clients’ goals, beliefs, symptoms and any personal barriers that may be holding them back.

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Suggestion therapy and cognitive behavioural/ life coaching can help you achieve goals such as weight loss, improving relationships, career progression or anything else. 

 However, for deeper rooted psychological problems suggestion therapy and cognitive behavioural/ life coaching may be combined with hypno analysis/ regression therapy for more powerful results (see below).

What is hypno analysis/ regression therapy?

If you find it hard to change feelings, behaviour or emotional reactions to certain things through conscious effort and willpower, underlying conflicts in the subconscious mind may be the cause.  Often old feelings such as shame, anger, jealousy, hurt or guilt have been stored in the subconscious mind as a result of past experiences. 

The conscious is not usually aware of these repressed feelings so they simply remain there and have a continuous influence over present feelings, beliefs and behaviour.  However, hypno analysis/ regression therapy can tap into the subconscious mind to change this. 

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What kind of issues does hypno analysis/ regression therapy treat and is it successful?

Harmony4Life successfully treats psychological and emotional issues through hypno analysis/ regression therapy in Bristol.  Any issue or condition which may be the result of underlying anxiety, caused by a repressed memory can be helped by hypno analysis/ regression therapy.  This includes sexual problems, low self-esteem, nervous disorders, tinnitus, fears and phobias (claustrophobia, agoraphobia, etc.), anxiety/ panic attacks, migraine/headaches, severe eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia), stutters and depression. 

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How many sessions of hypno analysis/ regression therapy will I need?

In line with hypnotherapy and NLP being ‘brief therapies’ this method ‘speeds up’ the analysis process, getting results in a matter of weeks which can take more than "1,000 hours of conventional analysis".  Harmony4Life will work with you to re-examine past events and release any associated emotions. 

It may take a few weeks before memories below conscious awareness come to the surface through hypno analysis/ regression therapy.  As a general guide hypno analysis/ regression therapy can take between 1 to 12 weekly sessions, depending on clients’ needs.  To find out more contact Claire.

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How does hypno analysis/ regression therapy work?

This type of therapy facilitates the recall of past events whilst clients are hypnotised (also known as ‘free association’).  It focuses on the cause and effect of emotional and psychological issues and is used to identify the original cause of a particular issue. 

Behavioural issues or physical symptoms are often linked to an emotionally significant past event which is hidden from the conscious mind.  For instance as children many of us have faced events which produced emotions that we found difficult, if not impossible, to deal with. 

The subconscious may have filed the memory of the event away or this may be perfectly clear in someone’s mind.  However, the emotion which is associated with the event is usually locked deeply within the subconscious, triggering fears and anxieties, which often take over someone’s life.

For example, a phobia may develop if the emotion is externalised and directed towards an object or behaviour.  Alternatively physical symptoms may result, such as eczema, migraine, high blood pressure, a stammer or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). 

I will guide clients through hypno analysis/ regression therapy to help them recall events and emotions leading back to the initial event.  Eventually catharsis will occur where the originating cause of the problem and the associated emotions are found and released. 

As an adult you can use your existing knowledge and wisdom to view these memories from a different perspective, which helps release them from the subconscious.  This results in long-term/ permanent relief of the symptom.